Surprise Vacation
by Lololova
Summary: She had wanted to stomp off. To just walk out the office and slam the door behind her in protest. But she didn't. She wasn't a child! Not like the nine-year-old on a sugar rush to a partner! So, she'd walked out the door with determined steps, not stomping, and given her captain a glance of annoyance. - There are three chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prompt** : see the photo on the cover._

* * *

Detective Kate Beckett had been stressing out for so long that when her partner, the famous author Richard Caste, asked her to take a few days off she somehow agreed. Well, not at _first_. He'd nagged about it for _three days_ _straight_ before she'd given in with a harsh tone and narrowed eyes. To her utter irritation he'd had the audacity to grin wide back at her. She had thought about canceling last minute, especially when he said he was planning on making sure she relaxed, but - _deep inside_ \- she was actually looking forward to some relaxation. Plus Montgomery had apparently been told about the plans and she'd been even more irritated when he had taken the writer's side.

"But _sir_ , I..."

"This is non-negotiable," her captain had interrupted her when he'd told her the vacation was permitted.

She had _wanted_ to stomp off. To just walk out the office and slam the door behind her in protest. But she _didn't_. _She_ wasn't a child! Not like the nine-year-old on a sugar rush to a partner! So, she'd walked out the door with determined steps, _not_ stomping, and given her captain a glance of annoyance.

Her partner had gone up to her, a big, excited smile plastered onto his lips as he asked her if she would be free. The look she'd given him was apparently enough for him to understand what the answer was. When he'd followed her back to her desk that day he'd bounced on his feet as a gleefulness had surrounded him, but to her surprise he'd kept his mouth shut and when she'd given him a glance from her chair to his he'd been fooling around on his phone. Suspicious of his behavior she'd asked him what he was up to but he'd simply said he was texting Alexis and - _how stupid of her_ \- she'd believed him. It wasn't until the Friday arrived, when she was done for the day and her week of vacation would start, that she found out his _true_ intention for her time off.

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to accept a trip overseas from you!" she'd hissed when he'd told her to go home and pack her bags, that he'd pick her up at ten pm in order to take them to the airport.

They'd been arguing the whole ride down the elevator, or - _more like_ \- _she_ 'd argued. Her partner had just been standing still, not moving his mouth until she was done scolding him for deciding something he was not allowed to decide.

"I've already bought the ticket, Kate," she'd flinched at his usage of her first name. "I promise you'll enjoy this, and you will have your own room and everything. No funny business, I promise."

For the first time in a long time she believed his promise. She'd believed in him before, _yes_ , but it was something about the gentle blues staring at her and the tone he was using that made her raging heart calm down. It was weird how he could do that, calm her down. She'd known him for three years now and she couldn't understand how deep beneath her skin he'd gotten.

"Fine," she'd muttered before walking out of the elevator to set her pace towards her home.

* * *

"Kate, we're here," his soft voice woke her up slowly, his breath against her ear sending shivers down her spine.

She hadn't been able to get wind of where _here_ was before she boarded the private plane he'd arranged, apparently in order to keep their destination a secret, and when she'd asked the two flight attendants they had just smiled with the answer; "it's a surprise". She'd nearly growled at them, but Castle had told her he had given them all instructions _not_ to tell her and that if she should be mad at someone it was him. Though he did prefer if she wasn't too angry considering he was really doing this _for_ her. After that she'd crossed her arms and leant her whole body into her seat in order to show her utter irritation. She hadn't even been aware she'd fallen asleep until he was waking her up again.

"Where's here?" she muttered as she started to rub her eyes with her fingers, a bit irritated the softness of the seat had lulled her to sleep.

"You'll see the second we get out of the plane," he teased, but there was a gentleness to his voice that she had only heard him use on his daughter. _And_ occasionally when she'd been feeling down and he'd wanted to show her he cared.

Meeting his blues she knew he cared, _a lot_ more than she had been prepared to admit to herself earlier, and maybe - _just maybe -_ she cared about him too. _Too much_. It was a bit too much for her to take and so she broke their eye contact in order to fake a sigh before unfastening the belt and stand up. He didn't hesitate before he did the same and let her walk first out the door, he didn't let her take her own suitcase though. Her eyes rolled at that, but she was too irritated to argue. If he wanted to carry her suitcase then he could carry her suitcase, as long as he didn't snoop around in it. She hadn't had much clothes to take with her considering she had planned on washing during the weekend. Plus she hadn't planned on putting on any other clothes than those she usually used at home, those comfy ones that is. _Oh_ , and she also only had one bra... the one she was wearing. _Absolutely freakingly fantastic_.

"France?!" Kate exclaimed with wide eyes when she noticed the flags and words screaming back at her. "You _bought_ tickets to _France_?!" She turned on her heel in order to stare at her partner.

His lips was slightly pulled up in a smile as he observed her reaction, observing her like he did every day. She prayed her cheeks didn't redden because she could definitely feel them warm up. He shrugged his shoulders as he leaned his head a little on its side.

"Yeah. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did a couple years ago when I needed a break from everything. You see, I got here after I first realized I didn't want to write more Derek Storm. I needed to clear my head in order to decide what to do with him and his last book. And so I went here," he explained and as he was about to continue she saw his jaws tighten and he closed his mouth. _Had he said more than he'd planned?_ "Come on, let's go. We need to hail a cab before it gets too dark."

Rolling her eyes she followed him out of the small private airport their plane had landed at. "Castle, it's day," she corrected him and he just muttered something incoherent in reply.

Once they hailed a cab Kate was surprised to hear him tell the driver where to take them in french, she looked at him with questioning eyes because she had _no idea_ he could speak more languages than their native one.

"What?" he questioned and she glanced between him and the driver with a pointing look. "Oh, I've practiced since I booked the trip, impressed?" he smirked and she _wanted_ to hit him.

"Jackass," she muttered and he scolded once again how he was a wise-ass, not a jackass.

The rest of the ride was ridden in silence, none of the two spoke and neither did the driver. Until they were at their destination and Kate couldn't stop ogling the house they'd stopped at. She didn't even pay any attention when her partner handed over money to their cab driver. When he turned to her to tell her they should leave the cab she was climbing out as if on autopilot. The house was magnificent, not really that big but it still had two floors and she wondered how much this would cost him. She had a feeling he didn't care, but _she_ did. There was no way she wold let him spend so much money on _her_. He'd already booked her a flight overseas, a flight she'd almost declined immediately due to the same fact - _she didn't want his money_.

"Castle, I can't-" she started but when his eyes met hers instantly she suddenly wasn't sure how to express herself. How was it that almost every time she met his eyes she felt like she was drowning? _It didn't make sense!_ He was an annoying nine-year-old on a sugar rush for god's sake! Yet, somehow, she couldn't really see that any more. He'd grown during the time they'd known each other, and - _yes_ \- he was still a child at times but it wasn't to that extreme it was in the beginning. He was... _sweet_. And kind. And handsome. "You've spent way too much money on this, I'll pay you back," she eventually said but he was immediately shaking his head with great determination.

"Don't be ridiculous, Beckett," he said. "You're worth every dime, plus, I didn't spend any money on this house at all. Or, well, not this year anyway," he shrugged his shoulders.

" _You own this?!_ " she half screeched in surprise and looking at him she saw him nod excitedly.

"Mhmm, wait until you see the inside, come one."

He grabbed their suitcases and started towards the door with eager steps. At first she just stared at him, watched as he walked up the small stairs in order to get to his door, watched as he dug out his keys from his pocket and put it in the door to unlock. It wasn't until he had opened and looked back at her that she got out of her frozen state.

"You coming?"

"Yes-yeah."

Castle was more than a little amused by the uncertainty in her hazel eyes. He was so used to the hardcore detective that knew exactly what she was doing all of the time, so this was absolutely a sight he'd wanted to witness for a long time. When he decided to take her on a trip he hadn't been sure he would be able to get her to accept, especially not considering she'd declined his offer to go to the Hamptons a year earlier. Then again, they had grown so much closer the past year, and now he knew he was a lost case. He just prayed she felt the same, and even if she didn't he just wanted her to get to relax for once. She was always overworking herself, stressing out about her cases, and he knew for a fact that she sucked at eating. When she _did_ eat it was always takeout, and he wanted to give her a week of complete relaxation.

"Here's your room," he had given her the same tour only his mother and his daughter had gotten before and ended it at the guest room she would be staying in for this week. "My room is just down the hall to the right. Oh! And, this whole side of the second level has a joining balcony." When she gave him a skeptical look he quickly added, "Don't worry, you can lock your door _and_ there's curtains you can close."

She nodded but he could tell she was still a bit suspicious. _She had that cute wrinkle in her forehead_.

"I'll just let you unpack, you can put all your clothes in the drawers and that door there is to a bathroom of your own," Castle pointed to the door that wasn't the one they were standing at before he excused himself in order to go into his own room.

He started unpacking his own suitcase once inside his bedroom. He hadn't exactly packed much clothes since he had some permanently in the house but he had still packed the essentials like his tooth brush, his laptop, the book he's currently reading, and so on. He figured he would be able to do some writing since he assumed his partner wouldn't want to spend every minute of her time with him. Of course he was hoping she would want to spend much time with him, he'd actually been hoping this could be their chance to get to know each other on a deeper level. Once he was done with the unpacking he walked towards her door, getting ready to knock when he realized she might've wanted to be alone. Therefore he carefully put down his fist again and slowly backed away to set pace towards the kitchen instead. They needed to eat soon and he knew exactly what to make, his infamous pasta carbonara.

While he was moving around in the kitchen Kate was sitting on the bed she would be sleeping in, thinking about this whole trip. _Why had he asked her to come? Why had she said yes? Why couldn't she stop thinking about how sweet he was?_ Falling down onto the bed so her back was sinking into the mattress she also wondered how come she was not as afraid as she normally would be. _God, what had she gotten herself into?_ She could feel herself softening, and she didn't like it. How was he able to make her relax and feel so... happy, at times? Even when he was fooling around lately she caught herself enjoying it, caught herself laughing at his jokes. Another thing she caught herself doing was looking at him, observing him when he didn't know she was, her eyes tracing his lines. Before she knew it she had memorized every single feature on his face, could close her eyes and see him behind her lids. She'd even dreamt about him a couple times, woken with his name on her lips, her fingers tracing her skin to...

"Kate?" The sudden knock on her door had her jerk straight up in bed. "If you want some din-eh-lunch, there's some waiting for you in the kitchen," Castle's voice sounded through the door and Kate could feel her heart skip a beat at the kindness.

"I'll be right down," she promised and heard his footsteps lead away from the door.

He'd made her food? _God_ , he was going to spoil her. And for once it actually made her look forward to the week ahead.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Thank you all for being so patient with me and my stories, and thanks for all the support on my last one!_

 _This is story have three chapters and I started it sometime during November last year (2018) but never got to finish because other stories got in the way lol. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to be giving you the next two soon. Until next time, xxxx_


	2. Chapter 2

They didn't do much the rest of that day, both too tired from the flight and the time difference in order to really do anything. So they ended up on the couch for a couple hours, watching a movie, but then Kate excused herself to her room in order to take a bath. Castle couldn't stop the images conjuring up in his mind but managed to keep himself away from snooping by sitting down in his office to get some writing done. Kate didn't really know how to act around him, they weren't solving crimes, they weren't building theories, they weren't working, so what were they really going? They never really hung out like this before. Sure, they'd done takeout dinner a couple times, and they'd had drinks, but that had always been after a tough case. That's why she'd escaped to the bathroom, saying she wanted to shower the flight off her body. She needed some time to think, needed to have some time to herself in order to figure out what to do. The fact that he had brought her to his vacation house _in France_ had her mind spinning with thoughts of why. She'd known he cared about her, had seen the hurtful look he had the previous summer when she was with Demming. It had probably been the same look she'd had when he walked off with Gina, his ex-wife that same summer. But they were both single now. Where did that leave them? What did it mean he'd brought her out there?

"What are we doing?" she breathed out on a sigh before taking a deep breath and going under water to hold her breath for as long as she could.

How was she supposed to keep her heart from getting hurt when he kept doing sweet things for her? _God_ , she could feel herself tripping. If she was true to herself she'd been tripping for quite a while though. Breaking the surface when she couldn't stay longer under water she decided she'd been in the water for too long and as she got dressed she couldn't help but wonder what her partner was doing. Walking out of her bedroom she started towards the stairs and therefore towards the kitchen and living area, but a sound coming from another room had her stop in her tracks. Turning around she saw the lights being on inside the room he'd told her was his office and that's when she recognized the sound as fingers dancing on a keyboard, _he was writing_.

As quietly as she was capable of being she tiptoed towards the open door, couldn't stop the curiosity of seeing him in his natural habitat. Peeking inside she was surprised to see him engulfed in his laptop, she was pretty sure she'd never seen him so concentrated. Well, perhaps except that Nikki Heat case they had when he had been very focused on trying to find the killer, or whenever her mother's case had been brought up. But seeing him like this, writing, was awfully enchanting. She wondered what he was writing, _was he working on the next Nikki Heat?_ If he was, _what were their alter egos doing?_ Leaning against the door frame she didn't know for how long she was standing there, simply watching him, but all of a sudden blue eyes met hazel and his body jumped in his seat at the realization someone was standing in his doorway.

"Jeez!" he exclaimed with his hand over his heart and she felt her cheeks blush furiously at being caught.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" she excused as she straightened up from the doorframe, her eyes looking around the office.

That's when she noticed the photo frames all over the book shelves and she found herself walking to one of the shelves in order to look at the photos. There were photos of him and Alexis from when she was a baby, a kid, even some from now. There were also photos that she assumed was of himself as a kid, pictures of him and Martha. There were even a few with the three Castles all together. There was one picture in particular her eyes got stuck on, it was one of him with Alexis as a toddler. Alexis was almost completely nude except for her diaper and her skin was covered in paint while Castle was standing behind her with only a pair of shorts and his skin as covered with paint as she was. The ground was covered with paper and Kate figured the writer and his daughter had been painting it together with their hands and feet instead of with the usual brush.

She found herself smiling, her heart warming with the sudden feel of family, it reminded her so much of the small adventures she herself had with her parents. She couldn't remember ever painting a paper with her whole body, like in the picture, but she remembered her mom and her dad coming up with the craziest of things to help her learn different things while having fun. She remember her mom turning their whole first apartment into a zoo with all animals from Africa represented by stuffed animals. Her mom and dad had let her use real binoculars and bought those typical adventure hats while they searched each room for every animal and tried to find out as much of them as they could. As a small girl she had believed the stuffed animals to be magic because she could indeed see them move and sound as they should, she was engulfed with the adventure that she believed they actually went to Africa and saw the animals in real life. It took them the whole day to walk through the whole zoo, and eventually Kate had crashed on her mom's chest, sleeping as deep as ever.

"What are you thinking about?" Castle's sudden question had her flinch and she opened her eyes to realize she'd closed them in order to remember. She hadn't even noticed when he'd walked up to her until he opened his mouth. Apparently he was now standing right beside her and when she glanced to him she could see he was observing her. _Like always_.

"Nothing," she bit her lip, hadn't meant to let her mind slither away like it had. "You got a little carried away, huh?" she teased instead, moved his focus from her to the picture of him and Alexis by pointing her finger to it.

She could feel the small disappointment from him when she changed the subject but as soon as his blues reached the photo she implied he let go of a chuckle, which immediately had her body loosen up.

"Actually _we_ got a little carried away," he said in between chuckles. "The second Alexis thought she was done with the paper she started to paint me instead, it didn't take long before I had colors everywhere, including my hair. Thank god for the kids's paint being made to be easy removed from both clothes and skin."

Kate laughed with him, looked back at the picture and saw how his naked chest was filled with small handprints, as if the small girl had drummed her hands on his chest along with his stomach to paint every inch she could find. He also had two very bright colored handprints on his cheeks, as if his daughter had squeezed his face between her hands.

"You know, sometimes I forget how great it must be for you to be able to reach your innocent child so easily," she said before she really processed her thought and she felt his eyes on her.

"What do you mean?" he asked and she cursed herself before turning to him, meeting his asking eyes.

"I mean, Alexis must've loved the way you so easily could connect to her world. You're not just a boring adult like me but can be a child whenever something magical catches your interest."

His eyes widened at her comment and she was surprised to see him shaking his head almost immediately. She was about to ask him why he didn't believe himself to have so easy access to his inner child when he opened her mouth and surprised her with what had truly upset him.

"You're not boring, you've _never_ been boring. If you were boring I hadn't shadowed you for these past three years," he argued, his blue eyes piercing into hers. "When you get a kid you'll see how easy it is to connect to their world, you know a few magic tricks right? Just that is enough to become one of them, besides you've been a kid right?"

She was a bit taken aback with his sudden need to assure her of this. As if he could see the fright in her eyes even though she hadn't intended for him to see it.

"But I don't believe in magic," she said with a shrug. "I don't believe in most things that I can't see or touch."

"Did you believe in magic when you were a kid?" he countered and she immediately thought back to the memory she'd relived only minutes before.

"That's different," she started to say but he shook his head with a smile on his lips.

"Not really, if you believed when you were a kid you already got some of it in you. Besides, you can always pretend you do, for the sake of your kid," he assured her with bright eyes before he bit his lip. "That is, if you do want kids, I'm well aware not everyone do."

It almost sounded as if he was asking her, if she wanted kids, but didn't want to force her into answering it. He looked to the photo that had started this whole conversation and they went silent for a few minutes. Kate was suddenly very aware of him, how close he was standing, very aware of their conversation about kids, why did it make her feel nervous all of a sudden? She'd always assumed she'd have kids eventually, it wasn't like she wanted them right away but, still, the feeling of creating a family always felt like a possibility she wanted to explore. She wanted to have what her mom and dad had. She wanted to wake up to the sounds of small feet padding around the bed, wanted to know the feeling of a little boy or girl hugging her like she was one of the greatest things on earth. But ever since her mom died she'd been so focused on her career that she'd just figured that time would come eventually, just not yet. She wanted it in the future, but just not right now.

"I don't know about you but I'm starving again, care to join me for some dinner?"

Once again Castle interrupted her thoughts but she was rather thankful this time, because she still didn't know if she wanted to answer his non-question or not. She looked at him and smiled at the gentleness evident in his eyes.

"I could eat," she nodded and they set their steps towards the kitchen.

* * *

After dinner Castle made them some coffee and told her about the amazing view the balcony had over the sea during the sunset, which had apparently been one of the reasons he'd bought the house in the first place. It was due to this that they ended up on the couch he'd placed on the balcony, the two of them sharing a blanket over their laps with their coffees in their hands. Kate couldn't agree more, the view was absolutely stunning, and it was kind of magical to see the sky change color in pace with the sun lowering towards the end of the horizon. It was getting a bit chilly though, and Kate found herself scooting closer to the man beside her, so close their thighs were brushing, as she cradled her coffee mug in order to keep her fingers warm. Every now and then she took a sip to feel the warm liquid slide down her throat and burn her insides.

"This is perfect," she sighed out, not aware she was thinking out loud until he hummed in agreement.

She felt her cheeks blush at that, she was certainly not used to this softer side of herself, wasn't even aware she could be anything other than tensed and alert. Ever since her mom was... she hadn't ever felt the tense go away, unless she had passed out from way too much work and no rest.

"Thank you for coming here, for not being your normal stubborn self and staying put," Castle whispered and she put her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'm... thanks for inviting me," she said and they went silent as they continue to watch the colors of the sky.

She could feel herself relax even further, once her coffee was gone she found herself getting sleepier and soon couldn't stop her head from slowly falling down to land on his shoulder. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear a voice yelling at her how she shouldn't be getting cozy with the writer, shouldn't let her guard down so completely like she'd done about a year earlier when he'd broken her heart by leaving for a summer with his ex-wife. Though, that hadn't been _totally_ his fault considering she had been with Demming. Right there, sitting so close to him, she really couldn't think of a better way to spend her vacation. And that thought _frightened_ her, made her insides tell her to run, but she didn't know where to. Especially not when he, a few seconds after her head landed on his shoulder, carefully put his arm around her. Besides, she felt _safe_ with his arm loosely wrapped around her. She couldn't stop but wonder where the hell this trip would take her. Where it would take _them_.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Thank you all for your support on the last chapter! Hope you'll enjoy this one too, only one chapter left after this, until next time, xxxx_


	3. Chapter 3

A couple days later Kate found herself without her bra under a white sundress Castle somehow got his hands on and insisted to buy her when they were out shopping one day. She found herself out on the balcony alone as the warm summer wind flooded through her hair and through the thin clothing. Castle had kind of bought it as a joke, saying he would love to see her in something less than her ordinary work clothes, and she'd rolled her eyes while trying to tell him off. Secretly she couldn't wait until she saw the look on his face when he caught a glimpse of her in it, had been debating about it the whole morning whether she should put it on or not. The biggest argument was, _with_ bra och _without_ bra. She knew her bra would be seen right through the thing material, plus it didn't feel quite right to have a black lace bra under a white sun dress. _Then again_ , she was pretty sure he would be able to see right through the material now too and see that she was in fact not wearing a bra at all. In fact, he would most likely be able to see she was completely naked apart from her panties.

Standing at the balcony rail she looked out at the water as she raised her hands to feel the wind caress her skin as the sun warmed her up. Even though she had sunglasses on she closed her eyes to just let it all sulk in. She'd been there for four days now, including the day they got there, and she couldn't deny the relaxation had completely taken over her. Castle had been really sweet and she knew she was falling right back into the feelings she'd let herself feel for only a couple hours that day when he left the precinct with his arm around his ex-wife. That was actually the reason she was making the daring move of wearing the sundress this warm morning. Deep down she was hoping they could cross that line that kept them apart. Because if she could read his eyes the same way he seemed to read her she was sure he wanted this as much as she did.

While Kate was standing out there Castle wasn't aware she was there until he had searched the living room, the kitchen, the office and even knocked on her door to find her bedroom empty. At first he had panicked, thought she'd left him without a word. He had feared she would do that, had feared that if they got too cozy she would up and run. But when he'd carefully opened her door after no answer at his knocking and seen the balcony door slightly parted from its frame he'd backed out again. He closed her door and proceeded towards his own bedroom where he would be able to walk out onto the balcony without her knowing he peeked into her bedroom. When he got into his room he set foot to the balcony door and moved the curtains only to drop dead in his movements. Standing tall out on the balcony was a Kate Beckett he didn't quite recognize.

Castle was frozen with his hand on the door handle, he couldn't find it in himself to push it down. _Sure_ , he'd witnessed his muse get more and more comfortable for each day they'd spent in his French home but he had never anticipated the sight greeting him this late morning. He wanted to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing right but didn't dare in case it would all turn out to be a dream. _Please don't be a dream_ , he silently prayed. She was standing by the balcony rail in the sinfully thin sundress he'd bought her just to mess with her a bit. And _was she wearing it without a bra?!_ He was staring at her open back and it showed no sign of anything covering her upper body. Did that mean what he thought it did? More importantly, _was she expecting him to find her or did she think she could be out there alone?_

It took him several minutes before he realized he had stopped breathing, and when he took a gasping breath he saw her lift her arms up in the air and witnessed the wind flowing through her hair. She looked so carefree that his heart started pounding faster as a great warmth spread throughout his veins. She looked so relaxed and comfortable, as if she was finally letting go of all the worries that always seemed to poison her mind, and he couldn't be more proud to be able to witness it than he was. Never in the last couple years they'd worked together had he ever thought he would get to watch her relax.

Taking a deep breath he pushed down the door handle and walked out with a careful, "Good morning". He saw her back tense just a tiny bit before her whole body seemed to relax, her shoulders slumping down in a carefree motion.

Kate felt her belly fill up with butterflies the second she heard the door behind her open, felt her heart skip a beat when his voice sounded through the wind. She turned her head slightly in order to look at him as she greeted him with a smile and a simple "Morning". The look on his face made her insides tingle, he looked at her like she was the most precious human he'd ever seen and she could feel her teeth sink into her bottom lip. When he got closer to her she could see his eyes flicker down to her chest and felt all her insecurities about her decision vanish when his blues turned surprised as well as a tiny bit darker. Instead of holding her eyes with his he trained his blues onto the water in front of them as he placed himself standing beside her, his cheeks turning into a small pink-ish color.

"So," he cleared his throat, "How'd you sleep?"

She felt her lips turn up even further and she could feel her cheeks hurt a bit from all the smiling she'd done during the last four days. She pulled her sunglasses up to rest on top of her head, wanting to be able to see him, and his blue eyes, in the rightful colors.

"Great, I haven't felt so rested since before I started at the police academy," Kate said with her hands landing on top of the railing, her left hand carefully placed to just barely nudge his right. "What about you?"

She could feel his eyes turn to her and while training her eyes on the horizon she found herself biting her lip once again. His hand started pulling away and she drew a quick breath, thinking that maybe he didn't want the same thing, but she thought too soon because his fingers were suddenly, very lightly, tracing the skin of the back of her hand. She shuddered at the sudden tickles his touch sent through her skin and she glanced to him from under her lashes.

"Well, I slept for eight hours so I'm good," he answered with his lips pulling up in a grin as he met her eyes.

 _Those blues_. She could drown in them if she would just stare into them long enough. His eyes had been the one thing that had caught her attention first. It had also been the first thing that had attracted her to him, even though she had tried her best to deny any attraction to him at all in the beginning. She was tired of denying though. They were both single and she could tell from those glimpses in his blues that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Glancing down to his lips she so badly wanted to kiss them. Just cross that line that needed to be crossed if they would ever be able to become something more. When her eyes met his again she felt her cheeks blush deep at the knowing look he was giving her, _he'd noticed_. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd figured out what she'd been thinking as well.

"I see you're wearing the dress I bought for you, does that mean you accept it?" he asked and she narrowed her eyes at him as he started chuckling.

She could feel the dare inside herself and so she removed her hand from his in order to put it on her hip as she turned her body towards him, making sure he got a good view over her braless chest. She was silently daring him too, and she could see he couldn't stop himself from flicker his eyes down her body.

"I don't know, it's kind of nice, don't you think?" she teased, biting her lower lip as she raised her eyebrow with a smirk lurking behind her eyes.

She felt her heart fluttering at the way his blues were suddenly meeting hers and they were so intense and darker than earlier.

"You know, it's a lot sexier than I imagined it would be," he said with a dark tone and she felt her insides clench at the sudden change in his voice.

"Mhmm," she hummed and bit her lip. If she didn't stop biting her lips soon she would most likely bite through her skin. But, _hell_ , that look his eyes got when they, for a split second, flickered down to her lips would totally be worth it.

Castle wasn't sure what to do. The way she kept biting her lower lip and the rise of her eye brow that insinuated and dared so much more than ever before, had him confused and wanting. He wanted to attend to that sore lip, wanted to kiss her and tear his teeth away from it in order to sooth it. He wanted those teeth to sink into _his_ lip instead.

"So you don't think it shows too much?" her question had his eyes widening as he, for show, put his fingers under his jaw as he assessed her body.

He lingered on her breasts, seeing her nipples through the thin material and shook his head as if he was trying to decide how to answer her question. When his eyes dropped a bit he could see the white panties she had underneath too and shook his head more determinedly with a shrug of his shoulders. "No, not if you're comfortable." _He would love to see more_.

When he looked back to her hazels he almost lost his breath, they had darkened and the way her cheeks were all flustered he had a feeling she would love to show more.

"But, uh-" he started and let his right hand lightly sneak its way to her hip, "I myself wouldn't wear it in public. I would ah-keep it simply around me, since we don't know how many would disagree with my assessment."

The smile grew on her lips and she squeezed her hip a little, to his amazement she stepped in closer to him.

"Yeah? Then how about I wear it for special occasions, when it's just you and me then," she suggested with a slight tilt to her head.

He pretended to think about it for a second before he nodded. "That could work," he agreed and meeting her eyes again he didn't get to drown in them before she was standing on her toes, her lips pecking a kiss to his. When she backed down he didn't hesitate to follow, claiming her lips with his in a real kiss. She moaned at the sudden move and he let his left hand land on her hip to be able to pull her even closer. As soon as her body was flush against his he let his hands travel to her spine and he couldn't help but feel utterly grateful for making the purchase of the dress. _He could feel her skin through the open back_.

Kate's head was starting to spin the second his tongue sneaked inside her mouth and she could finally taste him. She couldn't believe it had worked! _They were finally crossing the damn line_. His fingers left hot trails as they danced around her naked skin and even though they were already flushed together she couldn't help but try push herself even closer. Her own fingers found a life of their own as they snaked into his hair and she moaned again when he pushed her body into the railing of the balcony.

"Castle," she panted as she felt her mind slipping away from her. "Bedroom."

It took about one second before he reached down the back of her thighs in order to lift her up and she gasped with a giggle as he carried her back to his bedroom.

* * *

Kate found herself dozing off, her heart slowing along with her breathing as her mind was starting to drift. She couldn't believe they had spent _hours_ in bed, couldn't believe she'd had so many orgasms she'd lost count after ten. His fingers and his tongue had been too much for her, he hadn't stopped to pause for one second once he started and, _god,_ she'd never been so satisfied. She'd made sure to do some of her own moves as well, had smirked at the moans she'd pulled out of his mouth. _Now she knew what to do to shut him up_. Or at least, make him do the noises that turned her on even more than she thought possible. Before they'd joined bodies he'd paused though, his blues searching hers for any sign of regret or indecision. She'd verbally made sure she wanted this, wanted _him_ , and first then had he pushed through. After that they had found a beautiful and sweaty rhythm and Kate could swear it was more than just sex. It was too _intimate_ to be _just_ sex.

The sudden touch of his fingers tracing her naked side had her eyes fluttering open, and he immediately looked ashamed.

" 'M sorry, didn't mean to wake you," he murmured and she smiled. His voice was rough and filled with proof of what they had just done.

She grabbed a gently hold of his free hand in order to put it against her lips, kissing his skin softly. His fingers continued to caress her naked skin and she wiggled closer to him, closing her eyes with a sigh of happiness leaving her lungs.

"I never anticipated for this week to go like this," he whispered and she opened one eye to look at him.

"Me neither," she whispered. "But I hoped," she admitted and saw his eyes widen slightly. "I mean I-ah, I've developed these feelings..." she bit her lip and felt it had swollen after all their kisses. "I knew it was only a matter of time but... I'm glad you took me here."

His lips pulled up big and his blues were filled with hope. "Me too." He leaned towards her and kissed her swollen lips, it was far too sweet for her not to drown deeper into the love she had for him. The love that was way too soon to admit to. "So, how are we going to do this? Do I get to kiss you in the precinct?"

"No. Absolutely not," she said with a stern voice and tried to smother the giggle wanting out at the puppy face he made. "You can kiss me at home, but the precinct is off limits." His face broke up in a smile at that.

"I can do that," he agreed with a nod before he smirked and lowered his voice, "and a lot more."

She felt her face blush with all the thoughts circling her mind and she hid it in her pillow with her lips in a big grin. While she hid he slid his hand down her hip and to the back of her thigh in order to pull her leg up and over his hip. She turned her head only to see his loving gaze trace the lines in her face.

"Thank you for letting me take you away, for not fleeing when you saw the plane ticket," he said and she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Always."

And it didn't take long before they were tumbling around again, skin against skin, lips against lips, heart against heart.

 ** _THE END_**

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Once again, thanks! Means a lot to me to get reviews from you guys, and I really hope you enjoyed the whole story! Don't know what I'll do next but I guess we'll see when the time comes. I have a lot going on this month, last exam before graduating and starting work the 21st, so we'll see when I get time! Until next time, xxxx_


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